A pair of $12,000 Preferreds highlighted the Tuesday, May 20 card at The Raceway at Western Fair District with Johnny Buckshot scoring in the trotting feature while Sportsline was on the money in the top-level pace.
Johnny Buckshot was sent off as the 9-5 second choice from post four with Tyler Borth in the bike.
The duo flashed early speed off the wings, crossing over quickly to the pylons before bringing the field of seven to the quarter in a sizzling :27.4. R Royal Port (Travis Henry) stalked from the pocket through a half of :57.2 as the lead pair began to separate from the remainder of the field to three-quarters in 1:26.2.
R Royal Part tipped from the pocket around the final turn, reaching Borth's wheel as the two battled turning for home. Johnny Buckshot battled gamely to his inside in the stretch, holding the pocket-sitter at bay by a half-length to score in 1:56.2. Mercutio (Scott Young) rallied for third, five lengths back of the winner.
It was the first win of 2025 in his third start for Johnny Buckshot, who is trained by Katie MacNeil. Brad Wilson's homebred six-year-old gelded son of Il Sogno Dream-Third Avenue has won 18 of 62 lifetime, with $147,102 in career earnings.
The Preferred Pace served as the Tuesday finale, with Sportsline and Austin Sorrie teaming up for a 6-1 pocket-rocket score.
Leaving from post four, Sportsline rocketed out of the gate under Sorrie urging, but had to take the two-hole tuck as Ideal Perception (Travis Henry) rushed to his inside, protecting rail position before taking the field of eight to the quarter in :27. Sportsline raced in second past the half in :56.3 before It Takes Two (Lorne House) moved to his outside, racing third as Ideal Perception led to three-quarters in 1:24.4.
It Takes Two began to fade on the final turn, leaving room for Sportsline to swing out from second and take his shot at the top of the stretch. Sportsline picked off Ideal Perception midway though the lane, before having to fend off a late bid by the rallying Ponder No Longer (Ed Hensley) to score in 1:54.3 by a neck. Ideal Perception held sway for the show spot.
Patrick Bissett trains Sportsline, who has won three of his last five starts and four of 15 on the year for owner Craig Parrott. The nine-year-old son of Sportswriter-Angel In Disguise is a 38-time career winner, boasting a bankroll of $340,811.
In addition to the two Preferreds, the Tuesday card featured the second round of the London Classic Sale Series for Ontario-sired four-year-olds and under who were non-winners of $10,000 lifetime as of March 1. There were a pair of $8,000 divisions each for the male trotters and pacers.
Silverwalls (Garrett Rooney, $2.60) headlined the pacing divisions as he scored his fifth consecutive victory on the year with a 1:57 front-end score. Undefeated on the year, the Dennis Morrissey-trained sophomore son of Betterthancheddar-Redwalls has banked $20,000 on the season for owner Dale Hunter.
Dontquityourdayjob (Tyler Borth, $3.40) took the second division for pacers in 1:57.3.
On the trotting side, Northern Drifter (Jody Jamieson, $3.20) kicked off the card with a 7-3/4-length romp in 2:00.2 to take the first division while Cleveland Royalty (Tyler Borth, $8.50) went back-to-back in the series with a 2:00 score.
To view Tuesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Tuesday Results - The Raceway at Western Fair District.
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Johnny Buckshot from a previous win)